Too much of anything makes a man to a shadow of himself.
And by going on a rage just because your're politely reminded on that you are definitely sending out the wrong signal here.
Just because there are games with educational value, it isn't generally okay IMO that way too young kids hang around and play the same M-rated game all day.
Soldier_CLE says DON'T STOP AT THE STAR! REVOKE THE WHOLE DAMN THING, OWEN!!! was starred
Soldier_CLE says DON'T STOP AT THE STAR! REVOKE THE WHOLE DAMN THING, OWEN!!! was unstarred
A noble intention, but the actual contents of the letter are a bit dissappointing. One would think ECA could come up with better examples of how games enrich our lives. I'd rather write my own than sign this.
Soldier_CLE says DON'T STOP AT THE STAR! REVOKE THE WHOLE DAMN THING, OWEN!!! was starred
Soldier_CLE says DON'T STOP AT THE STAR! REVOKE THE WHOLE DAMN THING, OWEN!!! was unstarred
Let me preface this by saying I don't really know what happened between Obama and the ECA. I wasn't there. But I do know I love video games. They have been good to me. And there are things we can all agree to. Games are made for fun. Some gamers do dumb shit, and blame it on games. So far so good. But in his actions, picking on games, President Obama has acted STUPIDLY.
"blame it on games" really? That's your attitude? people make their own decisions in life and eventually have to own up to them. Saying something of that nature is the reason why video games had such a bad reputation a few years back, we're still recovering from those idiots who blamed Columbine on doom, we don't need that kind of negative input from a person who loves video games.
Slowly but surely all of the cattle who just followed the trendy herd to hate Bush and vote Obama, are having buyers remorse.
I am sorry but those of you(you know who you are) are sure to realize soon, that this guy is a bad choice for America. Good luck with all your hope and change folks.
@Hey_Blinkon: Do you have to swear to get your point across? Why dont you take a shower, get a job interview and trim that spinach off your face. . Tell me one thing! one thing Obama has changed for the better Mr.Blinkon. And none of this George Bush is evil crap. The guy is gone and as far as I can see its more of the same with Obama!
@JASONSPAZ: Sorry guy, I meant my comment in sarcasm. Stupid internet makes it hard I guess. For the record, I don't think GWB was a particularly good president, but I think he was a good man. And I think Obama is shaping up to be disastrous.... if he gets what he wants with Congress, but I doubt he will.
And once again people are arguing about the wrong thing...Even though he is the President, HE HAS NO BUSINESS TELLING YOU WHAT YOU SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT DO.
Let your kid's play video games or dont, who gives a crap. Not the governments business. Nor is saving the environment. Or providing healthcare for everyone.
@panzernaut: Saving the environment would be his responsibility. The gov't needs to keep people from fucking eachother over. For example, I can't dump toxic waste on my lawn, because that can seriously affect my neighbor. If it affected ONLY me, the gov't should leave me be. If the environment tanks, and global warming happens, we're all fucked. But, then again, there is VERY little proof this is actually happening. We scientists are supposed to evaluate data and make conclusions. Not make conclusions and cherrypick data.
@Hey_Blinkon: Well actually, pollution is more a case for the Judicial system and lawsuits. Say u pollute my yard, i sue you for damages etc. There are systems in place for this already. And global warming is of course simply an instrument being used by the government to gain more control over the populace. Its been completely blown out of proportion, same with saving the whales.... Those damn whales are eating all our fish!
Umm, since this man isn't a child psychiatrist nor practicing physician of any kind, why do we give a fuck about what he says with regards to parenting?
He calls cops stupid when he doesn't know the facts and here's another fact he's not aware of, not all kids who play a lot of games are fat.
P.S. If I am an adult with a child, a naive president is one of the last people I need lecturing me on how I should raise it. Why can't he just shut up and gtfo?
Everybody here keeps referencing that last speech where he championed parental responsibility as opposed to leaving your children to play the vidyas. That was not the first time he has mentioned video games in a speech. He has portrayed them in a negative light before. Besides, that whole "Wii" quote of his was designed to make him look hip with the younger generation. It worked, didn't it?.
Oh dear, that letter is shooting itself in the foot.With the recent launch of the Nintendo Wii, we have taken the next step in physical immersion in video games.
"Recent"? Are we talking about the same Wii that registers small flicks of the wrists as well as wide, exaggerated motions? The United States Military uses video games to not only recruit, with America’s Army, but also train our fighting forces to be better prepared in the field and work better within teams.
Because "recruiting teens" and "training them to be killing machines" is awesome, right? Over 17 million members in 26 countries come together to play.
Just because a lot of people do something doesn't make it necessarily good.
Video games are very much the new global form of entertainment with $11.7 billion in sales in 2008, a growth of 22.9 percent.
Whoosh, the money card.
I'd rather see a call for moderation (excess in anything is detrimental), or pointing towards everyone's responsibility to take care of themselves than these fallacies.
Again with the whole "Obama's ragging on video games" bit? I'm no Obama fan, but in all seriousness he's not bashing video games at all. He's telling parents to stop planting their kids in front of a console the entire day. Had he made that speech in the early 80's he would've told parents to "shelve" the TV's.
His entire message is about trying to get parents to be more proactive about their kids, because he wants those kids to be involved varied activities so they can have a richer mind in the long run. And while I do agree that nearly every game out there can actually teach kid some lesson or another, Obama's saying that it doesn't need to be done at a psychotic level (i.e., all day).
Please, ECA. I know your intentions are good to defend the legitimacy of video games, but you're both taking his statements out of context AND making all gamers look bad by suggesting that we all are doing the same.
@RockyRan: However this isn't one statement or two, he has made a concerted effort to peg the hobby as a empty time waster without any merit in a great deal of his speeches. Sure, it might not have been the intent but people do listen to him, and a lie said enough times is enough for most people to consider the truth. These things happen slow, not over night, so it's a good thing to make it clear we don't want a habit made of this.
I agree with his general message made in those speeches, but there are far too many factors he could have used.
Also, it's nice to see the ECA, and Hal Halpin practicing what they preached last week.
I think he's just using them as an obvious and well-known example, not because he's hating on video games. He'd be a huge hypocrite if that's what he meant, because I know there's at least a Wii in the White House.
And, really, he's NOT wrong. It's not healthy for kids (or anyone for that matter) to play video games all day long. And parents should be actively involved in their child's life.
Anyway, what other example should he give? Tell your kids to put down the books and go outside? No one is going to tell you to make your kids read less.
Even "empowering" and educational games should be played in moderation. Your kid shouldn't stay inside all day long playing Number Munchers and Carmen Sandiego either.
Umm I've heard some of the speeches and no he isn't harping on VIDEO GAMES he is harping on PARENTS lack of parenting. He could easily replace "xbox" with "television" and have the exact same message.
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And by going on a rage just because your're politely reminded on that you are definitely sending out the wrong signal here.
Just because there are games with educational value, it isn't generally okay IMO that way too young kids hang around and play the same M-rated game all day.
07/28/09
I played some games throughout my childhood that were downright gruesome (Exidy's Chiller, anyone?)
It didn't mess me up. In fact, it were downright therapeutic in some ways.
It's a good coffee break. Even if the coffee break is a long one. We're stuck on issues of time, when it's the quality we should be worried about.
QUALITY can be done in less time. HORRIDNESS occurs when you emphasize on doing things longer without emphasis on QUALITY.
This is where the semantics' lack of articulation starts to bring the critics, even people like myself.
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Of course, they could've make the form shorter and sweeter by filling out the following:
Dear POTUS,
STFU N00bz!
SiGnEd,
A. Gamerz
07/27/09
Zing!
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I am sorry but those of you(you know who you are) are sure to realize soon, that this guy is a bad choice for America. Good luck with all your hope and change folks.
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Let your kid's play video games or dont, who gives a crap. Not the governments business. Nor is saving the environment. Or providing healthcare for everyone.
07/27/09
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07/27/09
He calls cops stupid when he doesn't know the facts and here's another fact he's not aware of, not all kids who play a lot of games are fat.
P.S. If I am an adult with a child, a naive president is one of the last people I need lecturing me on how I should raise it. Why can't he just shut up and gtfo?
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Games are bad
Games are bad
Games are bad
The cake is a lie..
07/27/09
"Recent"? Are we talking about the same Wii that registers small flicks of the wrists as well as wide, exaggerated motions?
The United States Military uses video games to not only recruit, with America’s Army, but also train our fighting forces to be better prepared in the field and work better within teams.
Because "recruiting teens" and "training them to be killing machines" is awesome, right?
Over 17 million members in 26 countries come together to play.
Just because a lot of people do something doesn't make it necessarily good.
Video games are very much the new global form of entertainment with $11.7 billion in sales in 2008, a growth of 22.9 percent.
Whoosh, the money card.
I'd rather see a call for moderation (excess in anything is detrimental), or pointing towards everyone's responsibility to take care of themselves than these fallacies.
07/27/09
His entire message is about trying to get parents to be more proactive about their kids, because he wants those kids to be involved varied activities so they can have a richer mind in the long run. And while I do agree that nearly every game out there can actually teach kid some lesson or another, Obama's saying that it doesn't need to be done at a psychotic level (i.e., all day).
Please, ECA. I know your intentions are good to defend the legitimacy of video games, but you're both taking his statements out of context AND making all gamers look bad by suggesting that we all are doing the same.
07/28/09
I agree with his general message made in those speeches, but there are far too many factors he could have used.
Also, it's nice to see the ECA, and Hal Halpin practicing what they preached last week.
07/27/09
Seriously though, I can't imagine parents radically changing their perception of games just because Obama says so. The ECA shouldn't waste their time.
07/27/09
And, really, he's NOT wrong. It's not healthy for kids (or anyone for that matter) to play video games all day long. And parents should be actively involved in their child's life.
Anyway, what other example should he give? Tell your kids to put down the books and go outside? No one is going to tell you to make your kids read less.
Even "empowering" and educational games should be played in moderation. Your kid shouldn't stay inside all day long playing Number Munchers and Carmen Sandiego either.
07/27/09